USE, PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT OF WATER: A VITAL NATURAL RESOURCE

Transcription

1 USE, PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT OF WATER: A VITAL NATURAL RESOURCE C. S. Gardner, Ph.D. Corporative Extension Program and Center for Water and air Quality, College of Engineering Sciences Technology and Agriculture Florida A&M University

2 KEY THEMES WATER USE WATER MANAGEMENT SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

3 THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER Water is a vital natural resource and is required by all living organisms. Thus it must be protected, secured and defended. European Commission Water Framework Directive

4 NO WATER NO LIFE NO FUTURE Water is intrinsic to civilization and development

5 SEARCHING FOR WATER ON MARS

6 MYTH OR FACT? Water is abundant and renewable. MYTH!. It is not! The amount of water on earth today is the same as in prehistoric times

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8 MORE FOOD FOR THOUGHT Despite significant developments in recent decades our water supply faces threats from anthropogenically derived contamination and pollution.

9 SO WHAT OR WHO ARE THE CAUSES AND SOURCES OF POLLUTION? PEOPLE!!!! HUMANS YOU ME US THEM

10 Urbanization, population growth and industrialization are amongst the basic factors which cause environmental problems in lakes and reservoirs

11 HUMANS ARE A MAJOR CONTIBUTOR

12 INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION

13 WATER MATTERS: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

14 A VISION FOR WATER SECURITY A dire need exists for integrated water management strategies, that bring together: - GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS - NGO S - PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS In order to promote equitable water use and security.

15 Ecocitizenship One of the most important aspects of environmental research is developing a sense of stewardship among the young people who will inherit the problems we are creating today.

16 THIS IS HOW YOUNGSTERS IN THE UNITED STATES ACCESS THEIR WATER CAN WE SAY THE SAME FOR YOUNGSTERS IN PARTS OF ASIA?

17 Per capita water use, by continent (cubic kilometer/year) Continent * Africa North America South America Europe Oceania Total 1,360 1,982 2,594 3,316 4,138 5,189

18 Water and Conflict The idea that population growth and limited resources lead to conflict over limited resources is not new: This natural inequality of the two powers of population and of production in the earth... form the great difficulty that to me appears insurmountable... the contest [is] a struggle for existence, and... fought with a desperate courage, inspired by the rejection that death was the punishment of defeat and life the prize of victory. An Essay on the Principle of Population Thomas Malthus, 1798

19 JUST TO REITERATE!!! Only 0.3 percent of all available water is usable by humans. Now that this has sunk in, you will agree with me that MANAGEMENT of this resource is expected to emerge as one of the greatest challenges facing humankind during the 21st century.

20 Water and Conflict Conflicts over water are also not new. In the mid 19 th Century in Mexico, the dispute access to the waters of a disputed river created bitterness and animosity between two drought-hit southern Indian states. "Fight Over A Waterhole By Remington

21 HISTORICAL WATER CONFLICTS No setting illustrates this phenomenon more completely and immediately than does the dispute between Georgia, Florida, and Alabama over the Apalachicola- Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin and its ecologically impressive estuary, the Apalachicola Bay

22 Water and Conflict The fight over water privatization is also becoming violent. In this picture, a local factory worker in Cochabamba, Bolivia faces off with riot police during demonstrations against the privatization of Bolivia's water system.

23 WARNINGS OF POSSIBLE WARS ON WATER Many experts speculate that the shortage of water could lead to major political conflicts around the world, or in the worst cases, war. Over 20 countries depend on the flow of water from other nations for much of their supply. And more than 300 of the world's river basins are shared by two or more countries.

24 A BRIEF GLANCE AT U.S. WATER USAGE

25 U.S. WATER USE According to a 2005 U.S. Geological Survey, it is estimated that about 408 billion gallons of water per day were withdrawn for use throughout the United States. Approximately 79 percent of this was withdrawn from surface water and the remainder from ground water. About 85 percent of total withdrawals were freshwater because it is required for so many uses.

26 PRINCIPAL USES OF WATER IN THE U.S. INDUSTRIAL COMMERCIAL DOMESTIC Agriculture - mainly IRRIGATION

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32 PROTECTING OUR WATER SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

33 A Sustainable Agricultural society A Sustainable society is one which meets its food and fiber needs without diminishing the requirements of future generations. Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable or unsustainable. So how do we achieve this?

34 Agricultural BMP s in Crop and Livestock Management for water Quality

35 Conservation Tillage 35

36 Strip Cropping 36

37 Terraces and Waterways 37

38 Watershed Management 38

39 Protection of Stream banks 39

40 Flood Control 40

41 Nutrient Management Planning 41

42 Proper handling and storage of Agricultural Chemicals

43 Ag Waste Management Systems Manure & Wastewater Handling, Storage, and Utilization Planned around six(6) major functions: 43

44 Management of Agricultural Waste Type of waste Location Volume 44

45 Organic sources of plant nutrients 45

46 Proper Treatment of Agricultural Waste 46

47 Proper Storage and utilization of Agricultural Waste 47

48 Recycling of Agricultural Waste Recycling of the waste material: Irrigation on crops or woodland Export for use

49 Concluding Thoughts "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." The problems we are facing in protecting and maintaining our water resources and quality are growing ever more complex and will require our combined efforts and creativity to solve. It is through discussion, conferences (local, national, regional and international) that we may find the collective knowledge necessary to actually make a breakthrough.

50 Thank you for listening and Thank you for your attention!! QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?